Tag: Accessories

Obico: The Ultimate Bike Computer?

The Open Bike Computer, or OBiCo is a fascinating new bike computer project.

It can be used as a normal bike computer, of course. But it can also be used as a heart rate monitor (taking input from Polar and Sigma brand chest straps), a music player (it plays OGG as well as MP3) and a GPS receiver. It takes an external memory card (the widely available micro-SD card), has a high quality TFT screen and a USB interface for connection to a PC.

The USB connection can be used to charge the internal lithium ion battery. Alternatively (and this deserves a drum roll) a hub dynamo, such as the Schmidt Original Nabendynamo (SON) can be used to charge as you ride.

You may at this point have noticed that it's very unlike a typical commercial bike computer, lacking proprietary accessories and software... well it gets better, much better.

The Obico will come with a custom API for software development. So if you're not happy with the software that comes with the device, you can write your own.

It will also feature the Embedded Linux operating system to the Obico could be used just like a regular computer, in so far as any Linux computer is regular!

The main features of the Obico are:

  • No batteries required! A hub dynamo will be used to charge a li-ion cell.
  • Easy to use.
  • Audio interface, so you can listen to your favorite music while cycling.
  • High quality color tft-display, that adapts automatically to the lighting conditions.
  • Visualization of:
    • speed
    • heart frequency
    • odometer
    • audio data
  • Logging your tour data like GPS coordinates, heart frequency, speed and other parameters to a MicroSD-Card.You can synchronize these data with your PC lateron. The amount of logged data depends on the size of your SD-Card.
  • GPS support is planned as an option. Location plans are scheduled.
  • New program features for this computer are for free and can be downloaded from this webpage.

The main processor is an ARM9 derivative. It is supported by a second processor, which controls the peripherals and assumes the tasks of the power management. The obico board has the following features:

  • 32 / 64 / 128MB Mobile SDRAM
  • Micro-SD Interface
  • AC97 Audio Interface to play MP3, OGG, ...
  • high quality, background lightened TFT-color display
  • HRM - Receiver (Pulse band receiver)
  • GPS - Receiver (optional)
  • 3 axis gravitation sensor
  • ambient light sensor
  • Lithium Polymerakku, that is loaded per USB or dynamo

It's still at the prototype stage, but if this project were based on genuinely open standards and free software, and received good development community support, this has the potential to be truly groundbreaking and revolutionary.

http://www.obico.de/

New LED lights

LED lights have been around for several years, but until recently they were really only practical for riding in built-up areas, or at least lit-up areas. The big advantage of LEDs are reduced power consumption and long life. However, the light output from LEDs has been disappointing. They allowed the cyclist to be seen, but provided little by way of illumination of the road.

For cycling in complete darkness, halogen lights were the only option. My own preferred option was a SON hub dynamo powering a B&M Lumotec and a Schmidt E6 similar to the one pictured below. This provides plenty of illumination for my needs. The only drawback is that I always need to make sure that I have sparebulbs in my saddlebag. Good quality bulbs seem to last a long time - I think 100 hours is typical.

Picture: m-gineering.nl

However, in the last year or two several high quality LED lights have become available, and with high light output and long life, LED technology is a real option for fast riding in complete darkness.

With the recent announcement of the Schmidt E delux, there are now 4 excellent LED lights on the market for use with hub dynamos.

  1. The Schmidt E-delux
  2. Busch & Muller LUMOTEC IQ Fly
  3. Solidlights 1203D and 1203DR
  4. Inoled Extreme

The IQ Fly has been getting rave reviews, but it seems to have been surpassed by the Schmidt E-delux.

Hand made by Wilfried Schmidt, maker of the SON, it is compatible with 6 volt dynamos from Shimano, SRAM and of course the SON by Schmidt.

Features include:

  • 80 lux output (this compares with 40lux for the IQ Fly and approx 25 lux for the E6)
  • a standlight, so the light stays on for a few minutes after stopping
  • On/Off and Senso mode. Senso mode automatically switches the LED on, when the ambient light levels falls
  • Aluminium casing and copper heat sink for dissipation of head from the LED.
  • internal optics are from the B+M IQ Fly.
  • available in Black or polished aluminium
  • weight: 85g.
  • can be used with or without a taillight, without modification

The Edelux should be available in June 2008 at a price of less than 130 euro.

New SON Dynohub

The unrivalled SON dynamo hub (or Schmidt Original Nabendynamo, to give it it's full title) has a new model available this month.

The 20R is a lighter version of the SON 20, which is designed for bicycle wheels of 16" to 20" in diameter.

The SON 20R has the following specification:

  • Power: 6V/3W
  • Efficiency: 60% at 15km/h in a 20" wheel. 65% at 15km/h in a 28" wheel.
  • Power consumption (under load): 0.7 W at 15 km / h (in a 20" wheel)
  • Power consumption (under no lighting load): 0.4 W at 15 km / h in a 20" wheel)
  • 26 pole magnet.
  • Hub Sleeve: aluminum 6082 T6 polished or black anodized
  • Spoke holes: 36, 32, 28, 24, 20 (radial spoking allowed)
  • Two 4.8mm electrical contacts
  • Weight: 390g (compared to 580g for the existing models)
  • 5 year warranty

A model for disk brakes is under development and should be available in February 2008, and the 28" model should be available in October 2008.

There seem to be no plans to update the SON XS, which is a narrow version of the dynamo hub, designed to fit the narrow front forks of a Brompton and New Series Moulton.

New Brooks Products for 2008

Brooks were at Interbike and had some new products to show along with their existing line up.

Their stand included a Pashley Moulton TSR 30 donned with leather bar tape and a Swift saddle.

New leather grips are available.

Each BROOKS Leather Grip is made with a stack of leather washers held together by 3 bicycle
spokes and 2 aluminium rings. This construction enables each of the 2 grips to be shortened
independently to the desired length.

The BROOKS leather grips fit all standard handlebars with a 22.2 mm diameter. They are
available in 4 colours: black, brown, aged (dark tan) and honey.

Download the grips brochure

Of much interest were the fold-up pannier bags. They are not waterproof and probably not much use on a Moulton. They do look good however...

They also announced a new wire basket...

made
of a metal structure, wooden base and a leather grip.
For the use on modern bikes this basket is equipped
with a modern KLICKfix® handlebar adapter

Also of possible interest was a new "Messenger" style bag. This is a waxed canvas bag...

featuring a shoulder belt which can
be easily secured around the waist while cycling.
The belt is the innovative part of this bag. Once
adjusted to the desired length, depending on the
height and waist of the cyclist, the belt can be
kept loose to carry the bag over or across the
shoulder while walking.
For increased stability during the ride, the belt
can be easily fastened around the waist simply
pulling the two ends of the belt and locking them
at the center with the “Sam Brown” fixing.

Other products to look out for in the near future are a laptop bag, a waterproof tote shopping bag (designed to fit perfectly into the wire basket), new handlebar bags and rear panniers.

The product section on Brooks' website has not yet been updated but the details (along with brochures) are available on the News/Press page.

Brooks 2008 Cycle Bags and Accoutrements Brochure

Brooks Leather Grips Brochure

New Garmin Edge

Garmin Edge's new killer apps for cyclists – wireless route sharing and SRM power compatibility - gizmag Article

The mapping capabilities on the Edge 605 and Edge 705 allow cyclists to truly get lost in their ride without losing their way. Both units come with turn-by-turn routing to destinations based on built-in maps and optional detailed street or topographical maps on preloaded data cards.

Altitude is recorded using a barometric altimeter for the Edge 705. This accurate altitude data makes it much easier for cyclists to match their altitude profile with their speed, cadence, and heart rate during post-ride analysis. The Edge 605 measures altitude through GPS positioning.

Moultonbuzz believes that for a truly transcendental ride, you should leave everything at home... except a pump and perhaps a few jaffa cakes. But if you must bring a gadget with you, then a GPS mapping gadget is an excellent choice.

The Garmin Edge 205 and 305 have been out for a while and they looked great. I haven't used one but I was told that it lacked the facility to tell you where you were. You could of course do the usual GPS stuff - navigate to waypoints, and create a log of where you had been. But if you were truly lost, and turned on the device, it would presumably know where you were, but it couldn't tell you.
There was also the issue of fitting the optional speed/cadence sensor to a Moulton, because of the larger distance between rear wheel and crank. For an excellent article on how to do this modification see Detlef Beyer's article.

Garmin Speed/Cadence Sensor modified to fit a Moulton

The new Garmin Edge 605 and Edge 705 have lots of mapping goodness so either could turn out to be a good replacement for my current hodge podge of GPS applications and hardware which usually sits at home while I go for a ride.

When used with Garmin Connect — Garmin’s new and improved online training site — the Edge’s benefits continue long after the workout. By pairing the Edge 705 or Edge 605 with Garmin Connect, users can join a worldwide network of cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts and log their workouts, track their totals, share workouts and participate in an online community. They can also search and download routes uploaded by other users.

Which is fine if you're doing it when you should be working, but not when you should be on your bike 🙂